Yunus Centre

The Yunus Centre, in Dhaka, Bangladesh is a think tank for issues related to social business, working in the field of poverty alleviation and sustainability. It is 'aimed primarily at promoting and disseminating Professor Yunus' philosophy, with a special focus on social business'.^[1] As of 2023^[update] it is chaired by Prof. Muhammad Yunus, and its executive director is Ms. Lamiya Morshed.^[2] Yunus Centre has 109 YSBCs all over the world.^[3]

Yunus Centre

Formation	2006
Headquarters	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Website	www.yunuscentre.org

The Yunus Centre is located in the Grameen Bank building in Mirpur Thana, Dhaka

History

After Prof. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2006, a personal office for Prof. Yunus under the name of ‘Yunus Secretariat’ was formed. From the very beginning on, the Yunus Secretariat was mainly aiming at promoting Prof. Yunus’ philosophy of social business and served as a one-stop resource centre for anyone interested in social business.^[4]

In July 2008, it was renamed the Yunus Centre and continues to develop new social businesses, provide technical help to social business start-ups and liaise with anybody interested in the topic. They also publish a quarterly newsletter on new developments in the field of social business.^[5]

Following Muhammad Yunus's appointment as chief adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government in August 2024, several organisations affiliated with the Yunus Centre—including Grameen Bank and other Grameen entities—received a series of official approvals and regulatory benefits, prompting public scrutiny and criticism.^[6] Among the developments were the approval of Grameen University, the issuance of a manpower export licence to Grameen Employment Services Limited, and a digital wallet licence for a Grameen Telecom concern.^[6] Additionally, the government stake in Grameen Bank was reduced from 25% to 10%, and its five-year tax exemption was reinstated.^[6] Critics, including jurists and civil society members, raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the integrity of the approval processes, especially as several legal cases against Yunus and his associates were dismissed soon after he assumed office.^[6] While the interim government maintained that all approvals followed due process, transparency advocates called for greater disclosure to mitigate perceptions of undue influence.^[6]

Activities

• Poverty-Free World campaign

Yunus Centre is working to promote the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in Bangladesh and all around the world and is especially committed for making Bangladesh free of poverty by 2030.

• Research and publications

Disseminating the ideas and philosophy of Prof. Yunus on social business and microfinance.

• Social business

Acting as the primary source of information on social businesses worldwide and providing consulting services to start-ups. Its New Entrepreneur Project funded 385 projects in 2014.

• The Global Social Business Summit

Created in 2009 by Yunus Centre and Grameen Creative Lab, the Global Social Business Summit has become the main platform for social businesses worldwide to encourage discussions, actions and collaborations in order to find effective solutions to crucial problems plaguing the world.^[7]

• Academic programs

Developing curricula for classes on social business. Amongst other, current partnerships exist with Harvard University, HEC (Paris), the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok), Bocconi University (Milan) McGill University (Montreal), Glasgow University, University of Florence and University of Salford.

Subsidiaries

• Grameen Employment Services Limited (90% owned by Yunus Centre, 10% by Grameen Shikkha)^[6]

See also

• Muhammad Yunus
• Grameen Bank